Today marks the release of the new Battlefield 3 downloadable content Aftermath for PS3 Premium members. Between 4pm and 8pm, PS3 owners get to see the new DLC a week before the Xbox 360 owners (PC date is not officially set yet). The DLC is called Aftermath, because four new maps are going to be available that are in the “aftermath” of earthquakes in Iran.

One of DICE’s newest features is the addition of the crossbow as a weapon, which will add a different element to the game. However, with so many other FPS games already having it, I feel DICE has dropped the ball on making Battlefield 3 having its own unique feel from the other games. Call of Duty: Black Ops, Half-Life 2, and other older games have used it, and to me, it always lost its allure after using it for five minutes. Even with variations in the bolts you can fire, it felt more as a novelty than a useful weapon.

Some info on the crossbow is that it’s designed to look like a heavily altered assault rifle. There are two different variations and four different types of bolts – each having a unique characteristic (for example, explosive tips and proximity scanners). Until I get my hands on one in-game, I can only guess that it will play like all the others in previous FPSs. Hopefully, I am proved wrong.

On the positive side, from viewing the trailer embedded below, these four new maps feature major urban areas in Iran transformed to nothing but rubble and heavily damaged buildings. Another new feature, that I am personally looking forward to experiencing, is the post-earthquake tremors that appear throughout the individual matches. This is the feature that has me sold the most, as I love environments and maps that are ever changing. Adding to the effect of chaos and tremors, the character skins the players now reflect the damage the earthquakes have caused as the soldiers now display bloodied bandages and bruises. I feel like this is a step in the right direction, as this is something that can help to distinguish Battlefield 3 from other FPS’s.

Three new vehicles have been added, the Phoenix, Barsuk and Rhino (until I play it, I don’t know what exactly each do that is different), and as well as a new game mode named “Scavenger”. Scavenger is a mode where you start with a pistol and then scour the map for bigger and badder weapons. Cool idea, just it’s nothing new and could have easily been implemented before the game’s official release last year. HALO has a very similar game mode, which was fun and I am sure it will be fun in Battlefield 3, I just wish there was something more innovative about it. In case you couldn’t tell from my earlier ranting in this article, I like things that are different.

With both the positive and negatives taken into consideration, I truly am looking forward to playing this DLC. I will not pass judgment on this expansion/DLC until I play it, and will update this post when I get that chance.

Guild Wars 2's latest update has been met with polarizing reactions from the gaming community. In the most recent patch, a new endgame dungeon system was created together which included a controversial new armor tier. Although many gamers were happy with the challenge of tackling this new dungeon, many gamers were angry that a new top tier of armor was available. Is more content a good thing?

Normally, more content is always a welcome addition for gamers; however the new armor tier has been met with much outrage on several forum websites. Ever since the game was released, ArenaNet stated on numerous occasions that the “‘Exotic” tier of armor was going to be the highest level and best stat-wise. This new armor tier set directly contradicts the one of the original selling points of the game (not having to continually get new armor). This game was not supposed to be a grind-fest, yet many people feel as if the new armor is a contradiction to everything ArenaNet has said in the past.

Aside from the complaints about the new armor, the rest of the patch has been seen as a great addition. A new area on the map has been opened up (another level 80 zone) which is full of new dynamic events and boss fights. This zone, named The Lost Shores, features two new types of enemies – the Karka and the Reef Drake. The Karka are a crab-looking race that are heavily armored, and the Reef Drake are a powerful group of lizards that use confusion as their main source of damage. The Reef Drake may be trained by Rangers to use as pets. Both are a little more difficult to fight than a normal level 80 enemy.

This new area is rather small compared to other zones, and I was able to see all that it has to offer fairly quickly. Besides fulfilling your monthly achievement of killing 200 Karka, I honestly don’t see much of a reason for people even go to this new area. If this was all that the patch offered in terms of endgame content, I would be very concerned over Guild Wars 2’s future. Fortunately for ArenaNet, this is not the case.

In my opinion, the best part about this update was the addition of a brand new dungeon named Fractals of the Mists. The dungeon uses a new difficulty system that increases in difficulty the more times you complete this level. After personally completing the first 2 difficulty levels, I can assure you that compared to the other level 80 dungeons, Fractals of the Mists is a welcomed new challenge. The rewards you get in this dungeon are used to complete the new armor set, as well as new items specifically made for the dungeon.

I personally think that this a great start to creating a more engaging endgame for Guild Wars 2, but much more still needs to be done. More options in endgame content need to be added on a consistent basis to keep the community interested in this game if it wants to be competitive with other big name MMORPG’s like World of Warcraft or EVE Online. The Lost Shores patch is definitely a step in the right direction.

Fed up with being stuck in one role? Tired of being limited to tanking or healing? Guild Wars 2 by developer ArenaNet has torn down the walls of the classic MMORPG (massive online role-playing game) gaming dynamic and has blended the traditional roles so everyone can do everything. Simply put, every class or ‘profession’ has the ability to do damage, tank, and heal/support in a group.

ArenaNet’s aim with its newest installment in the Guild Warsseries is to make a MMORPG that is refreshing in design and doesn’t punish you for playing casually.

In games like World of Warcraft, Everquest, andother big name MMORPGs, players were forced into what has been called the “Holy Trinity” in order successfully complete the games’ most challenging tasks. Meaning, in order to progress through the games’ most challenging content, the players were forced to have a healer to keep teammates alive, a tank class to keep the rest of the party safe and from taking damage, and a DPS (damage per second) class to dish out all the necessary damage to kill the monsters. In Guild Wars 2, this element is gone as every player is able to perform all these roles with any of the professions they chose. To further emphasize this point, every profession in the game is able to attack targets from a long range or get up in the face of their enemies and whack them with a sword or axe – to equal effect. This versatility and adaptability in play styles is what ArenaNet has been advertising and is the feature that makes the game so fun and refreshing. Skills and weapons can be swapped on the fly, opening up new options for every class – making adapting to the situation that much easier.

When a player first plays the game, they are given a wide range of character customization options that many may find somewhat overwhelming; in a positive way. This much customization has been lacking in other similar game franchises. I personally found it difficult to create a character in under 10 minutes, as the game requires great attention to detail in the creation of the character. The character menu has a great range of depth, and each playable race (you can play as Humans, the very tiny Asura, the giant Norn, the feline Charr, or the plant-like Sylvari) has its own unique customizations options only available to that race. Players are also able to select their own colors for the armor they wear on the fly, adding another level to the already deep character creation process.

As soon as you are finished making your character, you go through a very brief tutorial where the games simplified controls, yet challenging fight mechanics are showcased. At the end of the tutorial, you face a gigantic boss that the other new players on your server fight with you. This experience is only heightened by the game’s stunning graphics and visuals that are miles ahead of the competition. After playing 60+ hours, it seems like ArenaNet has created a game that will rival any current MMORPG out there.

Lock-on missiles. Infrared vision. Extra armor. Stealth mode. All are upgrades you unlock from leveling up in Battlefield 3’s multiplayer mode, but some seem to put new players to the game at a severe disadvantage from the re veterans. Battlefield 3 uses a sytem to reward to those able to score enough points or complete certain objectives which gives them the ability to use different guns and upgrade their vehicles. However, the differences in the lowest tier unlock and the highest tier unlocks are quite substantial and affect the balance of the gameplay immensely.

But isn’t this the point of a reward system? If someone plays for X amount of hours or scores X amount of points, shouldn’t they be rewarded for their efforts with new weapons, vehicle upgrades and other game content? But doesn’t this put casual players and those who are new to the game at a severe disadvantage? Doesn’t this add to their skill disadvantage of the more casual players as they are already less acquainted with the game’s mechanics? I think so which only adds a level of frustration to the game when you join a public server, as you are killed over and over again by someone who is not only better at the game than you, but has access to weapons and vehicle upgrades not available to you and that may be almost impossible to defeat.

For instance, I found the most frustrating element of the reward system was the upgrade system used for the game’s fighter jets. At level 1, you only have access to machine guns that do not lock-on to any weapons and do severely less damage than any of the missiles you can unlock at later levels. Also, you do not have any flares to allow safe flight from anti-air missiles. So if you are to get into a dogfight with any pilots who have any of these features unlocked, unless you are the Red Baron, you are pretty much dead-on-arrival on the battlefield. Not only can the other pilot target you through lock-on missiles, people on the ground with anti-air vehicles or rocket launchers will turn your fighter jet into a free kill.

If players are able to get past this initial phase, the flying becomes much more enjoyable as dogfights morph into scenes from Top Gun. However, the game has many more examples of disadvantaged players being outgunned and out-manned so that going toe to toe with someone in a more heavily armored tank or infrared vision just isn’t wise. It does force the player to adapt to the situation and coordinate better with teammates, but this isn’t always possible if you are playing without friends.

Although I like this added challenge and how it forces people to use more teamwork, I believe it can also alienate players into thinking the game is too hard or too unfair. But this is in most shooter games now, with Call of Duty using the kill streak reward system which will have the same affect. It's an incentive to play more, which will make you a better player – well, theoretically.

I have spent countless hours in the past playing League of Legends by Riot Games, to which I formed a love/hate relationship with – loved the game itself, but hated the community who played it. League of Legends is a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena), whose gameplay is very addicting once you are able to get past its steep learning curve.

The objective of the main game mode is to fight 5 on 5, where you try to destroy the other team’s base, which is guarded by a series of turrets – typical for all MOBA’s. However, if you choose to play this game to unwind after work or school, you may want to find something else as this game can be equally fun as it is frustrating.

Before the match starts, everyone can pick the ‘champion’ or character they want to play each with its own abilities and play styles. With ever-so frequent release of new characters every two weeks, League of Legends is notorious for making new characters that overpower others, which can lead to some people throwing tantrums before the game even starts. If players cannot come to a consensus and pick a 5 man team that is balanced in its play style, people may harass each other for the first 20 to 45 minutes of the game. The maturity level of the game does seem to drop after 3pm on school days, which I correlate with the elementary and middle school kids logging on to play.

When you’re on a team that loses a game, the excuses and blame-filled hatred really comes out. Once you are in game, if you try and new or unique item built for your character, you may also come under fire from teammates as they feel you are jeopardizing their chance to win. Also, if you die more than 5 times in a game, people tend to blame a loss on someone who they say was “feeding” the other team or taking a dive to let the other team win and snowball them into becoming stronger champions.

If you decide to do ranked play, where the action is even more serious, you may start out to have a very tough time trying to get out of what is known as “ELO Hell”. “ELO Hell” is when a player starts off and his ranking is the base score of 1200. Since so many people tend to play at this level or lower, you may be stuck winning and losing games at an even pace, making you stay at or around this score where the skill is novice as best. Even if you get out of this level, the same continual harassment and lack of skilled teammates eventually made me rage just as much as the other players.

My six friends and I all decided to quit recently, as the community seemed to overshadow the actual fun we were having. Even those with thick skin get tired of the never-ending immaturity the community attracts.